| Send in the storm-trooper nurses . . .
Perhaps the most depressing thing about the news of filth in hospital kitchens is how quickly it will be forgotten: shrugged off on to the ever-growing heap of anecdotes about slovenly hospitals. The Freedom of Information Act, invoked by the Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb, informs us that of 368 NHS and nine private hospitals checked, 173 have mucky kitchens, 57 employ sluttish caterers, and scores don’t know how to store food safely. In Winchester a food handler samples food and licks his fingers; in Ashford, Kent, full-grown cockroaches frolic; in Croydon used syringes are left on meal trays . . . well, let me not spoil your breakfast. But it is good to be told these things by professional inspectors – just as we were four years ago, when the Government huffed that every hospital must have a "director of infection control" and John Reid promised "a raft of measures".
Q&A: What would you like your future job to be?
Here's what a few students at Southwestern Illinois College said. "I'd like to be a park ranger at a big national park like Yellowstone. I grew up in Boy Scouts, so I'm used to the outdoors. I'd rather be outdoors than indoors." John Morgan, 19 Swansea studying earth science "Open a restaurant with a jazz and poetry club. I'd serve soul food, Italian, anything." James Hill, 21 Belleville studying business and culinary arts "I'd like to be a an actor like Denzel Washington and head out to California." Lazar Williams, 20 Swansea general studies "I want to be a psychologist, a counselor who works with little kids and teenagers, especially the ones who have had family problems." Carrie Bailey, 19 O'Fallon studying psychology "I'm studying to get my GED.
Dexter School Board sets tax levy, discusses "Adequacy Update"
Citing the district's consistency in keeping with the minimum allowable tax rate, the Dexter School Board last night elected to keep the district's tax levy at the present level of $2.75 with a debt service of 50 cents during a special session of the board called just prior to the regular business monthly meeting. Superintendent Ken Jackson commented on the approval, stating, "This approval marks the ninth consecutive year that the district has remained at the same tax levy and I think that speaks well of this board and of the district as a whole." During the regular business session that followed, the board approved the annual Secretary of the Board Report (ASBR), which serves as a summary of the financial transactions that transpired during the 2006-07 school year. The district's auditor, Gary Ponder of Kraft, Miles and Tatum out of Poplar Bluff, will provide an audit report to the board at the September meeting, which will then be recommended for board approval.
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